This Friday morning, do you have a weird craving to watch Scandinavian women wearing saris, dancing in sync with lively Bollywood music? Well then, this is your lucky friday!

Just a few days ago, a group of dancing Finns boarded a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Delhi and—you know what's coming—performed a whole dance routine to "Om Shanti Om" in celebration of India's Republic Day. Even business class got a dose of the booty shaking, and check out the flight attendants getting down!

Of course there's a story behind the idea to bring this onboard, and you can read it here, on the Finnair blog. Umm and yeah—we totally want to learn that dance now.]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-27T08:27:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/1/4/5471/05535

After a challenging year for some of the founding members of the Oneworld alliance, 2012 will surely be brighter. In 2011, the alliance saw American Airlines file for bankruptcy and Qantas' chief grounding the entire network to challenge labor disputes, plus Iberia closing out the year with rounds of employee strikes.

There were some shining stars, however, with the finalization of International Airline Group (the conglomerate that combines British Airways and Iberia), Cathay Pacific offering overhauled cabins and in-flight amenities, and Japan Airlines emerging from bankruptcy stronger and more stable.

As we get going with 2012, we can't help but notice the huge changes happening amongst these airline buddies. Oneworld is the world's smallest of the major airline alliances, yet consistently hits the high marks in passenger ratings. With the addition of 3 new carriers, Oneworld will gain a fighting chance to excel in years to come. Here's what's happening meanwhile:]]> jetflyboy 2012-01-05T16:19:56-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/21/63840/453

You've heard of Tenzing-Hillary/Lukla Airport (LUA) before. Everyone has. As the airport for Mount Everest, it's not only top of our list of World's Most Dangerous Airports, but it's one that's proved killer in the past. Landing here and taking off from here, if the weather allows for it, means braving an uneven runway and old, tiny airplanes. Needless to say, it scares the bejeezus out of us.

That said, day in and day out, Lukla Airport flies tourists and trekkers to the remote location. One such recent visitor (who survived her ordeal) is friend of Jaunted Farryn Weiner. Farryn, formerly of Jetsetter.com and presently at Michael Kors, just returned from a few weeks of going native around India and Nepal. She cobbled together her photos and video shot on the trip into the inspiring mini-film above, which kind of reminds us of a series of GIFs.

The first few seconds of the video feature her view from the plane on the way to Lukla Airport, but we've also got some words from her on the experience:]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-21T12:32:56-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/5/125618/717

Tom Cruise spent a whirlwind weekend in India, taking part in everything from a photo-op at the Taj Mahal to an all-night party in Mumbai, but it's his "fans" who are making headlines overseas.

According to the Hindustan Times, hundreds of the fans who were waiting for Cruise to arrive at the Mumbai Airport weren't fans at all, but rather "junior artists" being paid 150 INR ($3) for the day. One of the "fans" even admitted she never heard of Tom Cruise before arriving at the airport for her paid gig. That's a bit farfetched (who hasn't heard of Tom Cruise), but let's go with it.]]> cmb 2011-12-05T14:24:56-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/10/13214/767

After weeks apart, Russell Brand waited patiently outside LAX for Katy Perry to arrive home yesterday.

Katy, who has been on tour in the UK, looked out of place getting into the couple's car wearing a long puffy jacket in the warm Los Angeles weather. Alas, it seemed she was more interested in giving her husband a smooch hello than her wardrobe, as she leaned in for a kiss as Russell sat in the driver's seat, ready to go.

The couple will only be together for a few days before Katy is on the road again, this time headed to Connecticut for a November 15th gig. Though they have spent a lot of time apart this year, Russell has planned a romantic New Year's getaway with Katy to make up for lost time.

Apparently, the actor has booked a two-week stay in a private pool-suite at the Aman New Delhi Hotel India, not far from where they were married last year, and not a bad way to start the new year.

[Photo: DailyMail]]]> cmb 2011-11-10T13:02:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/2/162912/0944

It’s time for another low cost carrier to hit the market, and this week it looks like Air India is going to try their best to get their brand of cheap fare into the air. Unfortunately, don’t expect the 787, as we’re pretty sure they’re going to save that for the more expensive routes.

At first it sounds like this will be just a domestic venture, so your dreams of cheap nonstop flights to New Delhi from JFK might have to wait a few years—or longer. Air India already has its own regional carrier known as Alliance Air, but it sounds like those at the top of the airline are looking to revamp things into a true LCC capable of cut-throat fares and little to no frills. ]]> kjb 2011-08-03T08:57:10-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/5/11/133153/365

Air India has been given a hard deadline of July 31st to finally meet the entry requirements for Star Alliance, something the Mumbai-based airline has been trying to do since they got an invitation to join Star in 2007. The airline needs to standardize its operations and computers with the rest of the alliance, so that happy alliancey things like code sharing, seat upgrading, and reward traveling can start happening.

Integration has proven to be something of a problem, and Air India has already requested and received three deadline extensions. We're guessing that a fourth extension won't be forthcoming, given Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht's subtle hint that "we will not extend this deadline anymore."]]> Omri 2011-05-11T14:32:32-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/